Psalms 7:12

7:12 If a person ¹  does not repent, God sharpens his sword ² 

and prepares to shoot his bow. ³ 

Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁴ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁵  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁶ 

Psalms 71:5

71:5 For you give me confidence, ⁷  O Lord;

O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. ⁸ 

Psalms 140:7

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, ⁹ 

you shield ¹⁰  my head in the day of battle.

[7:12]  ¹ tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).

[7:12]  ² tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ³ tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.

[36:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁵ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁶ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[71:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”

[71:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “O Lord, my source of confidence from my youth.”

[140:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

[140:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cover.”